Tucker, Boutilier take historic victories at Riverside

Shawn Tucker (52) goes toe-to-toe with Brad Keselowski in the final 50 laps of the IWK 250 presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body. Tucker made the winning pass on Lap 226. (Mike McCarthy)

Fredericton, New Brunswick’s Shawn Tucker held a hot hand heading into this past weekend’s IWK 250 presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body at Riverside International Speedway.

Needless to say, after 250 green flag laps on Saturday night, that hand has set the Maritime racing world ablaze.

After coming off a win at Petty Raceway the week prior, Tucker made a late move with 24 laps to go in the prestigious IWK 250 to take his first career 250-lap victory at the James River, Nova Scotia track. The winning pass on Lap 226 was made on reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, who led 152 of the 250 laps before fading in the late laps to a third place finish.

While Keselowski led the most laps in the race, he had to fend off challenges from many drivers, including Atlantic Tiltload Time Trial winner Donald Chisholm, veteran New Glasgow driver George Koszkulics and Tucker, among others. It appeared for a while in the feature race that Nova Racing was going to capture their first IWK 250 with Koszkulics and Chisholm both spending time up front.

Chisholm’s team discovered an electrical problem on a caution around the 100 lap mark after running many of the early laps in the lead and used the halfway break to swap ignition boxes in the Keltic Ford Fusion. Chisholm stormed back to the front but ran out of time to catch Tucker and had to settle for second.

Shawn Tucker took the lead on Lap 226 and drove his #52 Rockico Equipment Chevrolet Impala to the checkered flag at the IWK 250 presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday night. Tucker held off hometown favourite Donald Chisholm and NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski for the win in front of a capacity crowd. Rounding out the Top Five was Kent Vincent (Crapaud, PE) and Austin Theriault (Mooresville, NC). Koszkulics ran many laps near the front of the field, even challenging Keselowski side-by-side for the lead before the handling on the #88 car went away, resulting in a sixth-place finish for the Pioneer Coal team. (Source: Maritime Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour)

Brudenell, Prince Edward Island’s Jonathan Hicken captured “the biggest pole position of his career” by taking home the King Freight Dash for Cash, which awarded him the first place starting position for the IWK 250. Hicken finished ninth in the feature.

Former IWK 250 champion Kent Vincent and Brad Keselowski Racing development driver Austin Theriault completed the top five in the 30 car field.

A whopping 34 cars attempted to qualify for the feature with Josh Collins of Placentia, Newfoundland, Jerry Hayes of Sydney Forks, Nova Scotia and Robbie MacLean of Winsloe, Prince Edward Island missing the cut. Saint John, New Brunswick’s Lonnie Sommerville experienced engine issues with his car and was forced to sit out qualifying for the IWK 250.

Cole Butcher of Porter’s Lake impressed in his first 250 as the rookie locked down a seventh place finish after running laps within the top five throughout the race. The finish tightens up the Exide Batteries Rookie of the Year chase on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour, which sits at two points between Butcher and Truro’s Dylan Blenkhorn.

The festivities for the feature event kicked off with a presentation of a one-million-dollar donation from John Chisholm to the IWK Foundation, which will help support the development of a new, state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the IWK Health Centre.

Friday night

Scotia Speedworld Dartmouth Dodge Series champion Aaron Boutilier of Porter’s Lake kept his car out of trouble on Friday night at Riverside to capture the Highland Home Building Centre 100 for the NAPA Sportsman Series. The race also serves as the first round of the inaugural Maritime Sportsman Challenge, which is a series that will see bonus money go to the top three competitors in major Friday night Sportsman races at Riverside, Scotia Speedworld (August 9th) and Petty Raceway (August 23rd).

After being forced to the rear with a flat tire under caution, former NAPA Sportsman Series champion Colby Smith rallied back to finish a strong second. New Brunswick’s Shawn McLean came home with third, followed by Dale Richardson and Fred Broussard.

The first 30 laps and the final 30 laps of the 100-lap feature combined for one caution while the middle stage of 40 laps featured a rash of yellow flags. The turning point came in a wreck in the second half featuring McLean and Chris Reid. Contact between the two sent Reid spinning towards the wall and into the path of Kevin McGrath. Reid would bolt from his #8 car and confront the #82 crew in the pits before retiring to his trailer for the night.

“The Legend” Cy Harvey held on for his second consecutive win on the Maritime League of Legends Tour. The 50-lap feature at Riverside saw an intense battle amongst the top eight cars at the end of the race. Darren Sherwood of Berry Mills, New Brunswick came home in second with point leader Justin MacNeill of Bedford crossing the line in third.

This Weekend

Scotia Speedworld is back in action Friday as they host the prestigious 19th Annual Shriners Classic for Sportsman. In total, five Weekly Racing Series divisions will be on the card.

Speedway 660 will be the place to be on Saturday night as their weekly card is highlighted by the annual “Best of the Best” Pro Stock 150. The winner of the event will be awarded with a guaranteed starting position in the Auto Value 250 in September, which carries a $15,000 to win prize.

Until next week, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!

About the Author

When it comes to Maritime motorsports, Tim is one of the busiest men in the business. He is the series voice of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour and can be heard every Friday night in the summer at Scotia Speedworld. In addition, Tim covers the regional racing action on his website TimsCorner.ca, where he hosts a weekly podcast covering results and interviewing winners from the top short track races in the region. Tim can be seen at over 40 races a year with a microphone in hand!